Other Thoughts:
The disc golf course at Mountain Lake Conservancy is true mountaintop disc golf. To get there you go up, up, up; turn off the main highway and go up a gorgeous and winding mountain road for seven miles. Get to the beautiful Mountain Lake hotel, turn and leave the paved road and go up some more, until at a small gravel parking lot where some access roads and hiking trails all come together you find a sign for the disc golf course, well over 4,000 feet above sea level. So in terms of setting the mood, this course is great. Then in terms of setting itself, the course also stands apart compared to its Virginia peers. This is a rocky, undulating course playing through groves of large hardwoods and towering evergreens. Plus, considering how far off the beaten path it is, you'll probably have the course to yourself, so the serenity factor is as high as it gets. Taking it shot by shot though, it's still a nine hole course, only slightly longer than average, with sometimes challenging teepads, not a ton of variety from hole to hole, and, despite its idyllic location, no real views on the course itself.
Mountain Lake is a woods course, but the fairways are all completely reasonable. There is some call for your driver, with three par 4 holes, provided you can control that driver. Like many woods courses, Mountain Lake punishes mistakes, but rewards on target drives with a good look at par or birdie. As the course is truly set on the mountaintop itself, there are no big downhill chucks or uphill drives, but every hole features some bit of up and down. Most holes are straight or a long fade; there's no doglegs or hard curves to negotiate here. The rocky terrain and fallen trees do provide obstacles you may not find at many other courses, however. The course does feature a few truly memorable shots, down a slope into a grove of beautiful evergreens for instance.
While there is a great map on a signboard at the parking lot, the tees themselves only have rocks painted with the basket number and an arrow indicating the general direction. Thanks to yellow paint on the basket indicating the direction to the next tee, though, and obvious paths through the forest, finding your way around shouldn't be a problem. One potential negative is the teepads. The terrain is rough, and the rubber pads go a long ways toward smoothing out an area to throw from. But they're slick when wet or covered with leaves, slick enough to really affect your steps. Overall, the Mountain Lake Conservancy is a fantastic place to visit, and the course itself is worthy outing if you're in the area.